The hit single, off of my debut album, Exotica is "Here With Me," a story about the love between my mother and father. When my father first met my mother, he presented her with rose and a beautiful poetry book written in Farsi. She bookmarked all of her favorite poems that he wrote for her in the book. When my mother passed away, I inherited the poetry book and the first bookmarked page I opened was this song, "Here With Me".

At this time, I had an amazing opportunity to work with Chris Botti. I always loved Chris Botti. I was on a very bad date in 2008 and his song, "My Romance," came on I fell in love with his music-- it's what got me through the date, ha! I knew then that I had to collaborate with him. When I began writing "Here With Me," I translated the poem from Farsi to English, made a few alterations and I could already hear the smokey jazz sound, the romantic trumpet, it was everything Chris is fantastic at creating. The song soon became this beautiful piece of art, and the first of many collaborations with Chris.

In addition to narrating my parents' love, it also speaks to my own experiences with falling in love, and because they are real life experiences I think it feels even more powerful. This is why I decided to make a music video for this song. I knew I wanted something classy and romantic and James Scott (soap heartthrob) was the perfect fit. I met with James and he immediately loved my sound and the meaning behind the song. We brought in director, Samuel Gonzales Jr. who was really able to bring life to my vision. I truly tried to embody my mother, wearing the classic, chic, style as she used to, dancing with same passion she used to, I wanted to convey her relationship with my father, her yearning for the deepest possible love. Their relationship has inspired mine, because of them I know what it means to find your soul mate, and that is what "Here With Me," is really about.

I hope whoever listens to the song and watches the video understands it is a narration of honest, true love.